help with mundane stuff?

[hmm223]

Greetings, PALS. I'm new at this ALS stuff, and I feel like I'm reinventing the wheel. Herewith some of my (dumb?) questions:

What are the most comfortable kinds of clothes to wear while sitting in a wheelchair most of the day? Not the jeans I used to live in, I know. And my shirts and sweaters are too long and bunch up around my middle while I sit.

I just acquired a Hoyer lift. I can't abide the sling's straps on my bare skin. So, what to wear when being transferred to toilet or to shower chair?

The wooden ramp from my front porch to the driveway is my way out of the house (and back in). Now it's winter, and I've been warned away from the ramp because it's treacherously slick now. What can be done to modify the ramp surface?

That's all for now, folks!

 

[veggiepete]

Hi there...maybe covering the ramp with chicken wire, stapled down everywhere..or emery cloth?(bit like sandpaper but fabric backed)
Take care
Pete

 

[dalvin]

for the ramp, i bought a gallon of non-slip paint at home depot, cost $30. it has grit in it so its not slick when wet. also bought a bag of de-icing salt to sprinkle on it if ice forms. use a coffe can to apply so i'm not wrestling with the whole bag.

 

[ottawa girl]

Marilyn

There are no dumb questions!

I was wearing long dresses ( over the head types) in the warmer temperatures - easy to manage. I have acquired several colours of the "perfect pant" from LL Bean. These are pull ups and actually are quite comfy. Wash & wear. Initially I bought them a size larger for easier on/off - but I've reverted back to my size and finding they're OK. I also bought longish tunic tops to match and quite like them. I wear silky smooth camisoles instead of bras. ( too much info?) so my outer tops don't bunch up at all. You can google adaptive clothing sites for more ideas as well as searching on this site- i recall a few threads on this very subject.

I don't use a lift so can't help you in that regard. I did buy a shower terry cloth cape/poncho which I use everyday. Would that be helpful in a sling? If you want more info on that, let me know and I'll PM you a catalogue picture and the changes we made to it.

 

[CGARS]

Isn't winter fun?
Ramp - I used a roll of skateboard grip tape, cut into strips and stuck on every board. Bathtub strips work too.
Clothing - I'm usually wearing sweatpants, t-shirt and crocs nowadays (but im asking Santa for a Snuggy-after all,im retired now)
Hoyer - have one, but haven't used it yet.

P.S. I learned today, if your wheels are wet when you come in the house, let someone towel them off before you drive on the hardwood! Whoops, my bad.
Cheers,
Casey

 

[hjlindley]

That's a good reminder Casey thank you. We are having really strange weather here. It's raining and 75°. Should drop back in the 40s by Christmas Day. Good to see you back on the forum my friend. I was a little worried about you.
Hollister

 

[hmm223]

Marilyn

There are no dumb questions!

I was wearing long dresses ( over the head types) in the warmer temperatures - easy to manage. I have acquired several colours of the "perfect pant" from LL Bean. These are pull ups and actually are quite comfy. Wash & wear. Initially I bought them a size larger for easier on/off - but I've reverted back to my size and finding they're OK. I also bought longish tunic tops to match and quite like them. I wear silky smooth camisoles instead of bras. ( too much info?) so my outer tops don't bunch up at all. You can google adaptive clothing sites for more ideas as well as searching on this site- i recall a few threads on this very subject.

I don't use a lift so can't help you in that regard. I did buy a shower terry cloth cape/poncho which I use everyday. Would that be helpful in a sling? If you want more info on that, let me know and I'll PM you a catalogue picture and the changes we made to it.

Thank you for clothing tips. I would like more info about the terry cloth cape; sounds intriguing.

 

[hmm223]

Isn't winter fun?
Ramp - I used a roll of skateboard grip tape, cut into strips and stuck on every board. Bathtub strips work too.
Clothing - I'm usually wearing sweatpants, t-shirt and crocs nowadays (but im asking Santa for a Snuggy-after all,im retired now)
Hoyer - have one, but haven't used it yet.

P.S. I learned today, if your wheels are wet when you come in the house, let someone towel them off before you drive on the hardwood! Whoops, my bad.
Cheers,
Casey

Good idea, to have wheels wiped off on the way into the house.

As for winter... it's crazy here. NOAA calls it a "wintry mix" - sleet and snow; first t a layer of ice over everything, with tree limbs breaking (a few large ones in the backyard) and power lines down (not mine). Now it's snowing over the ice. Gritty paint, anti-slip grips, or even chicken wire would have been useless encased in this ice. I got no problem with snow, but the ice is monstrous. No prospect of the ice melting any time soon. I'm home for the holidays. Happy holidays, everybody!

 

[FSHolbrook]

You could paint your ramp and put pumis (sp?) or silica sand in with the paint so that when the ramp is painted it has a surface like sandpaper. This is what we used on the deck of our sailboat and I had the same stuff on my snow blower ramp.

Rick